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AP Poll Top 25 revealed following ninth week of college basketball season

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko01/08/24

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The latest AP Poll top 25 rankings are in after Week 9 of the college basketball season and there were some shakeups across the board.

The top 10 has some serious talent and it’s tough to differentiate in a wild year. But there are some others looking to crack into that elite territory with plenty of games to go.

Let’s dive into the latest AP Poll following the ninth week of college basketball.

1. Purdue

Purdue's Zach Edey
Purdue’s Zach Edey (Chad Krockover)

It was an impressive win for Purdue, knocking off a ranked foe in Illinois. The Boilermakers played host and gutted out an 83-79 win.

Trey Kaufman-Renn was the star, putting up 23 points in the victory. Zach Edey added 10 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

2. Houston (+1)

LJ Cryer Houston
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Cougars dominated West Virginia 89-55 as Houston cruised once again. It’s pretty impressive to watch Kelvin Sampson’s crew on a day-to-day basis.

This team is still undefeated (14-0) and got three players in double figures in the win. LJ Cryer led the way with 20 points, three rebounds and one assist.

3. Kansas (-1)

Kansas center Hunter Dickinson
© Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kansas kept it going, but had a close win over TCU in the Jayhawks’ last time out. Still, this team is 13-1 and rolling overall.

Nothing against TCU, the team is 11-3 but unranked during the last poll. Hunter Dickinson was the savior in that one, scoring 30 points and pulling in 11 rebounds during the win over a Big 12 foe.

4. UConn

UConn
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

UConn is back in action Wednesday against Xavier and the Huskies are in the middle of a three game winning streak. The latest? An 88-81 win over Butler.

In the win, Alex Karaban led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and one assist. Tristen Newton added 17 points, two rebounds and five assists. Total team effort for the 13-2 Huskies.

5. Tennessee

Jonas Aidoo
Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee Athletics)

A ranked win in the last time out for Tennessee! Taking down previously ranked No. 24 Ole Miss at home and the Volunteers did it in convincing fashion. Talk about that 26-point victory.

With a tough schedule, Tennessee is proving it’s legit. Jonas Aidoo led the way the last time out with 24 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

6. Kentucky

Kentucky men's basketball guard Antonio Reeves
Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

A close call over the weekend, but Kentucky edged out Florida 87-85 on the road. John Calipari’s crew improved to 11-2 with the win over the Gators.

Antonio Reeves was the guy Saturday, scoring 19 points and two rebounds. DJ Wagner and Reed Sheppard added 14 points a piece while Tre Mitchell and Aaron Bradshaw had 12 and 10, respectively.

7. North Carolina (+1)

Armando Bacot and RJ Davis opted to return to North Carolina in 2023-24
Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

The Tar Heels and Hubert Davis got a ranked win over an ACC foe by beating Clemson 66-55 Saturday. It was an eventful weekend for sure as UNC improved to 11-3 on the year.

RJ Davis had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Armando Bacot had a big night, putting up a double-double for the Tar Heels. He had 14 points, 16 rebounds and three assists.

8. Arizona (+2)

Caleb Love-Arizona
Zachary BonDurant | USA TODAY Sports

Arizona improved to 12-3 on the year with an impressive win over Utah. The future Big 12 opponents will wrap up a final season in the Pac-12 and it seems like Arizona is the top dog, or cat if you will.

Caleb Love had 23 points, six rebounds and six assists, turning in another impressive performance. Keshad Johnson had 20 points, six rebounds and two assists as the second leading scorer.

9. Oklahoma (+2)

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma had a good weekend as well, beating Iowa State 71-63 at home. Porter Moser and company improved to 13-1 and perhaps the Sooners might be overlooked.

It was an evenly distributed game for Oklahoma. Javian McCollum had 15 points, one rebound and five assists. Milos Uzan had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists to contribute.

10. Illinois (-1)

Brad Underwood
(Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK) Illinois head coach Brad Underwood watches from the sidelines during an NCAA college basketball game between Tennessee and Illinois at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.

Despite a loss to Purdue, Illinois did not fall out of the top 10. The Fighting Illini played really close and nearly pulled off an upset over the No. 1 team. This squad is still solid.

Marcus Domask led the scoring in the loss, putting up 26 points, three rebounds and five assists. Quincy Guerrier added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Rest of AP Poll Top 25

11. Marquette (-4)
12. Duke (+3)
13. Memphis (+2)
14. Baylor (+4)
15. Wisconsin (+6)
16. Auburn (+9)
17. Colorado State (-4)
18. BYU (-6)
19. San Diego State
20. Utah State
21. Clemson (-5)
22. Creighton
23. Gonzaga (+1)
24. Florida Atlantic (-7)
25. Texas (-5)

Others receiving votes: Dayton 126, Mississippi 125, James Madison 98, Cincinnati 79, Nevada 77, Texas Tech 62, Wake Forest 38, Grand Canyon 35, Seton Hall 34, South Carolina 29, Miami 27, St. John’s 18, Iowa St. 16, Colorado 8, NC State 7, Michigan St. 7, Alabama 7, Providence 6, Oregon 4, TCU 3, Northwestern 3, Princeton 2, Utah 2.

With another week in the books, the college basketball season can only heat up from here with conference play. Another step closer to March.